


The Midas Touch

by Beathen



Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 20:39:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5306051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beathen/pseuds/Beathen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Torchwood races against time to save one of their own from certain death. Set between 2x11 (Adrift) and 2x12 (Fragments).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on livejournal from September 29th, 2008 through October 5th, 2008. I own nothing - it all belongs to RTD and company.  
> *Many thanks to hllangel for helping me sort out my ideas before getting started, and to neon_footprint for the beta and britpick.

" _An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold._ " (Chinese proverb)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The warehouse looked plain enough. It was a metal box, with several rolling loading doors, and square windows, set high above the ground, which were broken in many places; evidence of local kids and their quest to destroy anything. Hurling rocks with all their might and being rewarded by the sounds of shattering glass was simple entertainment, if a bit juvenile. It didn’t stop Owen from picking up a pebble and trying his luck. Ianto didn’t need to see where the rock had landed, as the dull, reverberating ring of metal told everyone the result of the throw.

Tosh didn’t look up from the device in her hands as she approached a metal door, "Well, that takes away the element of surprise."

"It’s not as if there’s anyone in there, Tosh. It’s obviously abandoned." A low rumble of thunder echoed across the grey sky, the only other sound being a few seagulls cawing high above.

"You still missed." Ianto said.

"Yeah, well, I’m handicapped. Remember?" Owen held up his bandaged left hand, trying to accent his point.

Gwen entered the building first, gun in hand, ready for anything that might pose a threat. "You’re right-handed, you idiot."

Owen might have grumbled a retort, but another roll of thunder echoed through the building, drowning out the words. "I don’t see why Jack got to stay behind. I could be finishing up my reports from yesterday instead of being out here with you lot, searching for God knows what."

The building was quiet, save for the occasional sound of some unseen rodent scurrying through the rafters. Tosh looked up from her device. "Let’s just find whatever it is, and get out of here. The readings are coming from this general area, but I can’t pinpoint an exact location."

"What are we looking for?" Gwen asked, tucking the Glock into the back of her jeans.

"I’m not sure. Just look for anything out of the ordinary."

"Well, that was extremely helpful," Owen muttered.

Everyone split up, each taking a portion of the open warehouse to search. Fortunately the place was fairly empty, so the search would go quickly. Or at least Ianto hoped so. He hadn't been able to savor his first cup of coffee before being recruited for this mission and the lack of caffeine was putting him on edge.

Ianto headed towards one corner, searching the ground and under heaps of trash left by some homeless person… or weevil. He really hoped that if it had been the Weevil, it wasn’t planning to come back anytime soon. He’d already seen enough of them in the past week to fill up Torchwood’s first row of cells three times over, though the team had chased them back to the sewers instead. The weevils had been unusually active lately, which puzzled him, and made him just a little exhausted. He’d had enough exercise running after them, and wasn’t looking forward to seeing any more of the creatures for a while. Besides, the chaffing from running in suits wasn’t something he wished to aggravate at the moment.

As he pulled aside another half-broken pallet, once used to support a stack of boxes, a small glint of metal caught his eye. It was different from the rusted nails he was trying to avoid cutting himself on or the spare scraps of aluminum that lay crumpled and dull. This metal shone bright, almost as if the sunlight had caught it just at the right angle to reflect into Ianto’s eye. But that was impossible, as the sky was overcast; in fact there had been no sun for several days. Another roll of thunder outside punctuated his thought.

There was something alluring about the ring, almost as if it was calling out to be found, and stared at. A hand was reaching for it before Ianto realized it was his own. The moment his fingers touched the warm metal he knew this was it: this was what Tosh’s scanners had picked up. It wasn’t anything spectacular to look at, just a circular piece of gold, as smooth on the outside as it was on the interior as if it had been worn countless times. Something felt so … right. This ring needed to be worn. It was practically begging Ianto to slide it onto his middle finger, as if it was alive, communicating with him, and knowing that it would fit perfectly. Ianto’s logic warred with this desire. He _knew_ something was wrong, though he couldn’t say what, and he was slowly losing the battle between want and rationality.

"Over here! I found something." Gwen’s voice echoed across the empty space, cutting into Ianto’s thoughts, and breaking him free of the thrall he’d been in. He slipped the ring into his pocket, for safekeeping, with every intention of showing it to Tosh to find out what the hell it was. Owen was the first to make it to where Gwen was standing, then Ianto, and eventually Tosh, joined the group. Sticking out from under a pile of rubbish, similar to those Ianto had sorted through, was a hand. The initial shock of seeing it wore off and all four hurried to unveil the body beneath.

Owen didn’t even need to open his medical kit as the gaping hole in the victim’s throat and chest all but screamed "I’m dead!" to the others. Gwen activated her comm link to inform Jack that they had found a body, while a quick scan from Tosh revealed the body to be human. Despite the obvious, Owen performed a quick field analysis of the body, finding no sign of breath or heartbeat, and officially declared the deceased.

Back at the Hub, the team scattered to their work stations to continue monitoring the rift. Owen was performing an autopsy on the body, trying to determine the cause of death; Tosh started uploading the readings from her scanner onto her computer, frowning at something; Gwen was on the phone with Rhys, assuring him that she’d be home for dinner that night, promising she wouldn’t be late like last night. Honestly, the Torchwood team knew too much about Gwen’s personal life through unintentional eavesdropping on the phone calls she made. The thing about their base of operations was that sound echoed off the stone walls and hollow metal water tower. Nothing was ever a secret; anything that was said reverberated throughout the main area of the Hub.

Ianto replaced all the extra firearms they had brought with them in the safe. When investigating something unknown, it was better to carry more firepower than less. A dead human didn’t warrant all the weapons, but there’d been times when they had come in handy. As the lock on the safe clicked shut, the panel light changing from green to red, Ianto caught movement out of the upper corner of his vision. Jack had been watching the group go through their routine, standing at the edge of the hothouse; the sheets of glass his only separation from everyone else. Ianto wondered how big a rock would have to be to shatter that glass, knowing at least that his own weight being thrown against it was not enough. He grinned slightly at that memory. It would’ve been even better if he hadn’t been the one to clean up the mess afterwards. Sometimes Jack really did like to play rough, but that suited Ianto just fine.

Jack moved away from the glass and out of the room, heading for his office as there were reports to read and papers to fill out. Torchwood’s leader hardly ever had a break in work; there was always one report or another filling Jack’s inbox. As Ianto made his way to the coffee maker to start a fresh batch of coffees he started to wonder again about the ring. The weight and warmth of the smooth metal in his pocket was the only reminder that he still needed to inform Tosh of his discovery. But he had a few reports of his own to fill out, and he could tell her later, preferably when she wasn’t so engrossed in whatever program it was that had her staring at the monitor so intently.

After all, it’s not like he was keeping a secret. It was just a ring.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ianto! Gwen! Tosh! Meeting in ten minutes." Jack’s voice boomed across the Hub, alongside the clack of metal that rang from Owen's shoes as he crossed the catwalk that spanned the drainage pool of the tower. Ianto rolled his eyes, although he would deny it if anyone had seen him. There was no need to be insubordinate, but all the same, there was also no need for anyone to shout either. Sound carried well enough with the Hub’s acoustics, and from Owen’s furrowed eyebrows it seemed that he had received the worst of the blast.

There had been one time when Jack had shouted for half an hour with Gwen about the dangers of informing the police of the existence of weevils. His baritone never faltered once, even when Gwen’s voice had dulled to a hoarse rasp. After that incident, Ianto had asked Jack how he was able to maintain his voice, getting a sideways look in response. Jack smiled, "It’s all in the diaphragm." 

Still, he hoped that once they were in the conference room, the shouting could be left out. He was starting to get a headache.

"Alright." Jack said, once everyone had been seated. "Owen gave me his report on the body you recovered from the warehouse. The energy readings don’t match with what Tosh tracked earlier."

Tosh sipped her coffee, eyes on the cup before her. "The energy readings I initially had from the computer were twenty times greater than what I recorded when I scanned the body. There’s definitely something missing."

As Owen pulled up a picture of the body, and started to detail his analysis to the rest of the team, Ianto found his mind wandering back to the ring in his pocket. He casually pulled it out, rolling it around in his hand under the table. Normally he wasn’t the one to fidget during an briefing, but something in him couldn’t help but touch the ring. It was so small, but so heavy. 

"Ianto!" 

He jumped at the sound of his own name said so sharply, the ring slipping onto his finger in the process.

"Sir?"

"What would you say the cause of death was?" Jack was clearly not amused at Ianto’s lack of attention, and Ianto wasn’t amused that he’d been foolish enough to let Jack figure it out.

"I don’t know, sir." He replied, as he laid a hand on top of the table.

A table that was now made out of solid gold.

Gwen and Tosh both gasped, and moved away from the table quickly, Gwen’s chair almost tipping backwards in her haste to retreat. Owen’s mouth dropped open, while Jack’s eyes narrowed at Ianto, whose hand still rested on the smooth surface of the table.

The moment of silence, in which no one moved, or said a word, or even breathed, passed quickly. Four voices filled the room, overlapping, questioning what had happened. Ianto even thought he heard Owen say something about making a fortune if they could sell the table. Trust him to think of money at a time like this.

"Quiet!" Jack’s voice boomed out across the room; the headache Ianto had started to feel earlier now becoming an insistent pounding against his temple. He really needed to take an aspirin as soon as possible. "What the hell just happened?"

All eyes turned to Ianto. The silence pressed in on him. Part of him wanted to keep the ring a secret, but he knew he had to reveal his treasure. " _Odd word to use for it_ ," Ianto thought to himself. It was the ring that caused this; he could feel power humming along his nerves, originating from the tiny band of gold now encircling the middle finger of his right hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was an interesting counterpoint to all the words previously spoken that he could no longer voice any. Instead, he slowly, reluctantly, held up his right hand, the gold glinting in the same hue as the table before him.

"It’s this. I found it at the warehouse," he managed to say.

Jack’s lips pressed into a thin line, a visible sign of the rage he was holding in check. "Why didn’t you report it?"

"I don’t know." His mouth snapped shut, almost as if by its own accord. How could he say anything more? The ring knew him, wanted him, it felt so right that he should wear it. Who were they to question what Ianto did with the ring?

Wait. This wasn’t right. He _always_ reported the presence of alien objects, no matter how small, after the standoff with Jack about Lisa last year. There were no secrets between Jack and his team regarding anything resembling alien origin. Ianto wasn’t one prone to panic in confrontations. He was normally able to maintain his composure, except in the most dire situations, and this was certainly not life threatening. So why was his pulse racing, and sweat beginning to bead on his brow?

He couldn’t think straight. His thoughts were a jumbled mess of "why?", and "what now?", mixed in with a little bit of "how?". It was all getting to be too much, as his headache pulsed violently against his skull, while the tingling sensation of numbing fingers held in the air caused him to place his hand back on the table.

Where the table once stood was a pile of dust.


	3. Chapter 3

Staring down the barrel of a gun was not the most pleasant position to be in, especially as Ianto was unarmed … in a manner of speaking. Amid the din of Gwen and Tosh yelling at Jack to put down his gun, "It’s Ianto, for fuck’s sake!", Jack slowly advanced on Ianto, minimizing his chances of missing if Ianto should try to run, but far enough away that Jack would not meet the same fate as the table.

"Take it off. Now."

Ianto quickly tried to pull the ring off, his thumb and forefinger clasping the ring in an effort to remove it.

It wouldn’t budge.

He tried to force the ring from its position, using all the strength his left hand could muster, both hands shaking with the effort. It was like a game of Chinese finger torture. The harder the two fingers tried to pull away from each other, the firmer the grip of the device on the captured digits. It was catch-22. 

Ianto exhaled sharply, his hands falling into his lap, his eyes rising to meet Jack’s with a helpless look. "It won’t come off."

"What do you mean it won’t come off? You put it on easily enough!"

"I know! But it won’t move." Ianto said. Jack opened his mouth to ask another question, but was cut off before he could say anything. "No, it’s not getting stuck on my knuckles. I would know. And even if it were, I wouldn’t be able to use anything to get it off; it would turn to gold."

"Fuck!" Jack lowered his Webley, engaging the safety and holstering it at his belt. Tosh moved toward Ianto, scanner in hand, to take some readings, but Jack put a hand out to stop her. "You can’t touch him."

"I don’t need to. I just need to get a little closer to scan it. The energy readings I’m currently getting extend through Ianto’s entire body, and I need to get a more detailed scan of the ring itself without the rest of the readings interfering." 

Jack nodded, lowering his hand, and Tosh took a couple steps toward Ianto, raising the scanner. Ianto held out his hand for the scan, careful to maintain a safe distance. He didn’t want to accidentally affect Tosh with the power. Jack would surely kill him for that.

The scanner let out a couple of high pitched beeps, and Tosh nodded at the result on her screen. "This is definitely the energy I picked up earlier, though the concentration is much higher." She looked over at Owen, who hadn’t moved from his spot in front of the presentation monitor. "It’s the same energy that came from the body, though."

Owen nodded in agreement. "To sum up, before everything went to shit around here, the victim had an embolism in the heart and jugular at the same moment, with enough force to blow his heart right out of his chest. That’s not physically possible, normally."

"Are you saying this energy, whatever it is, caused the victim to die?" Jack asked, starting to piece things together.

"Yes."

Gwen looked at Ianto, her eyes widening in realization. "Then that would mean the same thing could happen to Ianto?"

Owen nodded. "More than likely, yes."

"Not if we can help it." Jack said, firmly. "Tosh, I need you to analyze those results. See if the effect can be reversed, or stalled. I also need to know how long we have, until …" He couldn’t finish his sentence, not wanting to voice the possible outcome of the scenario they were in.

Fortunately, Gwen filled in the empty space, turning the conversation aside into more productive thoughts. "I’ll help her. There has to be something in the archives that can help." 

"Fine. While you’re at it, do a scan of the rift, see if anything else came through at the same time. I don’t want another one of these things floating around Cardiff. One is enough." The women left the conference room, whispering to each other, with backwards glances over their shoulders.

Ianto kneeled to pick up the tea tray that had fallen from the disintegrated table. "I’ll make some coffee." The moment his fingers brushed the edge, the tray turned to gold, and he sighed. "Never mind."

"You know, Ianto, I have a couple of things that I wouldn’t mind you turning into gold." Owen quipped as he started toward the door. Jack’s glare silenced any further comments of that nature. "I was only kidding! I’ll see if I can get any more information off the body now that we know what we’re dealing with." He followed in Gwen and Tosh’s wake. 

Ianto was still kneeling on the floor as Jack walked up to him. Ianto’s gaze slowly scaled up Jack’s body, noting the creases in the wool pants and cotton shirt; not enough starch and too many hours of continuous wear; up to his face that held a stern expression, the blue-eyed stare trying to bore a hole in Ianto. "My office. Now."

Jack swept out of the room, leaving behind a shaken Ianto. He gazed at the mess before him; the shattered cups and spilled coffee slowly spreading across the floor, flecks of dust caught up in the slow tide of liquid. Gruesome thoughts started to slowly fill his head of exploding chests and throats. It was almost too much to consider that his own life was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to help stop it. One touch would destroy any effort to help. The thought almost took his breath away, though he could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He wondered if dying felt like that. Would he lose his breath? Would his heart race, until it stopped and he felt no more? 

With a heavy heart, and a racing mind, Ianto stood and followed Jack. He wasn’t sure what would be worse: facing death or facing Jack’s wrath.


	4. Chapter 4

Death, and Jack, had to wait just a little longer. Just moments after Ianto had stepped out of the conference room, an alarm sounded repeatedly throughout the hub. Up ahead of him, Jack jogged down the corridors in order to get to Tosh’s computer, the source of the alarm.

"The rift is generating an unusual amount of energy. It’s unlike any other activity we’ve ever seen."

Jack peered over her shoulder at the display, noting the spikes on the graph indicating rift activity. "What’s the fallout?"

"It appears to be pure energy. Other than that I can’t tell from here."

Gwen’s mobile rang, interrupting further conversation. "Hello, Andy. Tell me you have good news for me." At the sound of the police constable’s name, Jack’s head swiveled around to watch Gwen and eavesdrop on her end of the conversation. When Andy called, the news was hardly ever good. They were all forced to wait until Gwen closed the phone for any real news, as her end of the conversation mostly consisted of, "Yes," "I see," and "We’ll be right there," blocking any attempts of making sense of the situation. "There’ve been three sightings of creatures roaming around the streets. He described them as "men in grotesque Halloween masks, with big teeth."

"Weevils." Jack supplied, connecting the dots in his head.

"Yeah, and that’s not all. There are also a number of fires in various buildings around the city. All were started by lightning strikes."

Owen jumped into the conversation with his usual sarcasm, "And I suppose the police are now thinking that lightning is alien?" He rolled his eyes at the idiocy of Britain’s finest.

"It’s possible that the spikes of energy from the rift are causing the lightning." Tosh supplied, not paying any attention to Owen rolling his eyes heavenward.

Jack walked over to the coat rack in his office, and put on his wool greatcoat. "Find out for sure. Gwen, call Andy back, tell him we’re dealing with the creatures. Owen, you and Gwen are coming with me."

"Anything I can do, sir?" Ianto asked, unsure of how he could fit into the equation.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, unsure of how Jack would answer. It was obvious that Ianto couldn’t touch anything, but he didn’t want to be completely useless.

Jack paused a moment, before replying, "Just stay here … and don’t touch anything." He had turned and was out the door before Ianto could reply, although Gwen gave him a look of pity, Owen ignored him, and Tosh pushed her glasses up on her nose a little tighter, pointedly trying to not look at Ianto. The door rolled shut a moment later, leaving the hub in silence, except for the click of a keyboard and the drip of water into the base of the tower. Ianto wondered if the water would turn into liquid gold, or solidify, if he touched it. In either case, that would certainly get the attention of anyone in the Roald Dahl Plas.

"I suppose I’m just going to stand around and do nothing, then." Ianto said, to no one in particular.

Tosh looked up from her computer. "He didn’t mean it like that, Ianto. I’m sure he just wants what’s best for you."

"I’m not so sure of that." Ianto muttered, remembering other situations when Jack’s orders were _not_ in his best interest. They had actually been quite devastating. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he couldn’t just stand around and do nothing to help out with the weevils, the lightning, or his current … affliction.

Taking off her glasses, Tosh hurried to Owen’s workstation, as though inspiration had just struck. When she returned to where Ianto was standing, she was carrying a latex surgical glove and a piece of paper. He looked at her, confused as to what this was all about. The entire team knew she could come up with some interesting ideas and solutions, even when everyone else was stumped. Tosh knelt down to lay both objects on the ground and then stood up, smiling at Ianto. 

"Put on the glove."

Ianto sighed, "Do you really think now is the best time to take advantage of me? Besides, people would wonder why you have a gold surgical glove."

Grinning, Tosh replied, "Both the table and tray were both thick, rigid objects. If you turned the glove to gold would it become rigid, or would the thinness of the material allow it to be malleable?"

"I don’t see how this is going to help."

"Just trust me."

Ianto knelt down, being careful to touch the glove with only one hand, and not lose contact once he’d touched it. Tosh was right. The glove was still malleable, although it was now gold.

"I knew it! Now put on the glove and try touching the piece of paper with the glove."

The paper remained paper.

Tosh let out a squeak of excitement, as Ianto heaved a sigh of relief. He could still perform some duties while they searched for answers, although he would have to keep the glove on, and watch for any indication that the material was dissolving. Any hole could mean disaster.

"You’re brilliant, Toshiko!" 

Tosh opened her arms, and moved toward Ianto as if she were going to hug him. Ianto stumbled backwards as quickly as possible. "No!" Her eyes went wide as she realized what could’ve happened.

"I’m sorry, Ianto. I didn’t think."

"It’s alright." He straightened up, trying to dispel the tension between them. "I’ll just make some coffee."

"That would be wonderful."

"By the way, how did you know the paper wouldn't change?" Ianto asked.

"Well, the chair you were sitting in didn't turn to gold so I figured that anything you touch indirectly wouldn't be affected."

"Genius."

Tosh just smiled, as she resumed her place behind her computer, a small look of triumph on her face. It was a start, but it still wasn’t the answer. Ianto thought he needed to experiment with different, non-valuable items, to see what effect he would have on those. It was now looking like the water from the tower would continue to run as normal. While normal gold turned into liquid at 1064.18 degrees Celsius, this gold would remain liquid at room temperature. It would be so mesmerizing to see the bay turned to gold …

Ianto put that thought out of his head quickly. One touch would immediately kill any animal in the world’s oceans, and a second touch would eliminate the oceans completely. He was suddenly breathless at that thought, and the devastation it would bring.

More amazing was the part of him that didn’t care, and it frightened him more than words could say.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Jack, Gwen, and Owen returned, several hours later, Ianto had experimented with various substances and surfaces to see what effect he would have on each. The results were similar to the glove and paper, in that the object retained its original properties except that each was turned into gold. It was also a small comfort that he could assist in the search to find an answer as long as he didn’t touch anything with his bare skin. The unfortunate thing was that he looked incredibly silly wearing a suit with gold gloves on each hand.

"The only thing left to complete that look is a feather boa and a tiara."

He still didn’t know the effect of touching another human, even with the gloves, and he wasn’t anxious to try that experiment, despite how much he wanted to smack Owen at that moment. But the doctor had already walked to the autopsy room to continue to analyzing the body they’d found earlier that day, and it was easier to let the man go. Revenge was best served cold.

Jack threw his coat haphazardly over the back of his chair, smirking. "He can borrow mine."

Make that frozen.

Gwen laughed as Ianto deadpanned, "That won’t be necessary, sir. I’ve already got a set at home."

"I hope you kept pictures." Jack said, winking at Ianto as he walked up behind Tosh. "Anything new?"

"I’ve been tracking a lot of energy in the past two hours. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern to it, though, so we can’t exactly predict where it will occur."

"Tosh? Approximately how many separate readings were you able to track in the last ten minutes?" Gwen took off her coat and sat on the couch, crossing her legs.

"There were twenty-three significant energy spikes. Why?"

"The lightning." Jack supplied at Tosh’s confused look. "There’s an unusual amount of electricity in the air. We could all feel it."

Gwen rubbed her arms reflexively, "All the hair on my body was standing on end like someone was walking over my grave. Except the feeling didn’t go away. It was creepy."

"It was fucking annoying." Owen called out from the lab.

"Well _you_ weren't the one getting shocked all the time!" Gwen yelled back.

Jack grinned. "It was actually becoming pretty funny, what with all the swearing and the look on her face every time it happened." Jack said to Tosh and Ianto. "It was priceless." 

Tosh chuckled, adjusting her glasses.

"What the hell?" Gwen’s stare in Ianto’s direction did not go unnoticed by the rest of the team, as they all stopped what they were doing to look. Ianto froze in the middle of organizing some paperwork, and the lighthearted mood from before was broken. "How is that possible?" She asked, pointing first to Ianto, then to the papers he was holding, which were still paper.

"We did some experiments while you were away…"

Jack’s raised eyebrow had Ianto quickly supplying, "Not _those_ kind of experiments, sir."

Tosh continued, ignoring both Ianto’s comment and the sound of Owen’s mock gagging. "As long as Ianto doesn’t touch an object with his bare skin, it won’t change."

"Why aren’t the gloves turning to dust, then?" Gwen asked, standing to get a closer look at the gloves.

"As long as I maintain contact with an object once touched, it will only turn to gold."

"Well, that’s handy." Owen said, coming up the stairs and pealing off his surgical gloves. "At least he can still make coffee."

"Shut up, Owen." Gwen snapped, annoyed at his flippant concern for Ianto.

"I’m just saying, he could be more useful than just standing there. The world seems to be falling apart, again, and there’s work to be done."

"Do you have a solution to this problem, then?" Gwen yelled back. "If we can’t figure it out soon, Ianto will die!" Everyone in the room went still as she gasped, suddenly realizing what had just been said, and the gravity of the situation. 

Ianto’s vision blurred. He’d tried to push away thoughts of dying, in lieu of finding a way to remove the ring, but it all came crashing back to the forefront of his mind. Exploding chests and necks were not the nightmares one usually experienced while awake. Almost before he realized it, Ianto’s mouth had opened, and words were pouring out, though he had no idea what he was saying. It was just a stream of vowels and consonants, tongue and lips moving in time to exhaled breaths. Even to his ears, it sounded like gibberish.

" _Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief. So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay._ "

He became aware that he was no longer speaking, but he couldn’t shake himself out of the thrall he was in. It was comfortable, safe. The horror at his earlier thoughts fled, and they turned into a sort of comfort. Feeling nothing might almost be better than what he normally felt; an under-appreciated member of the team. They all had their significant roles in Torchwood. Ianto was just the tea-boy, according to Owen.

A blurry, but solid, figure stepped into Ianto’s line of sight, and he heard his name being called. It sounded far away, like someone calling across a great distance, the consonants lost to the air while the vowels were the only ones to reach their destination. Over and over, an echo becoming louder and clearer each time the single word was spoken.

"Ianto!" His vision cleared, revealing a wrinkled blue shirt with braces. He followed the source of the voice up to a well-defined jaw, lips thinly pressed together.

"Jack." The papers Ianto had been holding fluttered to the ground with a soft rustle, as he unconsciously released his grip.

"I think it’s time for that talk."

Ianto nodded, swallowing against the dryness in his throat, as Jack walked into his office and sat behind his desk. Gwen, Tosh, and Owen were all suspiciously absorbed in their own projects, not daring to look in his direction, as he carefully picked up the papers he had dropped and laid them haphazardly on the nearest desk.

As he made his way towards Jack’s office, he wondered if the day could get any worse.


	6. Chapter 6

"Close the door."

Ianto turned to follow the instructions, noting the furtive glances in his direction from the rest of the team. While Torchwood as a whole kept many secrets from the civilian world, for their own protection of course, individually, the members of the team were a nosy bunch. There were few things that they could keep to themselves, or that others wouldn’t find out about… except for Jack’s past. That was still an anomaly, and he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the details. He’d explained that saying anything about the future could affect timelines, but Ianto listened closely to whatever Jack said, and could sometimes pick up hints both of Jack’s past, and of the general future.

As he turned to face Jack, and sat in the stiff chair on the opposite side of the desk, he could feel the intensity of Jack’s gaze on him, the man’s fingers steepled in front of his mouth. Ianto was a man who could normally look another in the eye, confident in himself and not afraid to hold his position, but there were a few times in his life he could remember lowering his eyes out of shame or guilt. This moment added to that list.

"I’m not sure whether I should shoot you to put us all our misery, or let you sleep the night out in a cell to give you time to reflect on the seriousness of the situation. I can’t decide." Jack’s tone of voice was serious, though Ianto knew he wouldn’t follow through on the first option. But a threat from Jack was still never to be taken lightly. 

"Whatever you think best, sir."

Letting out a heavy sigh, and leaning forward in his chair, Jack changed the topic. "Do you mind explaining what you said before?"

Ianto furrowed his brows, looking up at Jack and cocking his head to one side, confused. "I mean, it’s your decision to shoot me or not. I’d rather not be involved in that decision if the answer is ‘yes’."

Jack shook his head. "No, I mean before, out in the main area. You said something."

"I’m confused, sir." Ianto quickly tried to recall anything he said earlier. "Do you need me to demonstrate one of the experiments for you?"

"Not that. This." Jack typed something into his computer, bringing up the CCTV from a few minutes earlier, and played the footage for Ianto, including the cryptic remarks that seemed to come out of nowhere. When the relevant part had come and gone, Jack pushed another key to stop the playback, and he leaned back in his chair, an arm going to each armrest.

"I don’t remember saying that. Although…" Ianto paused to think back. His pulse started to race just a little faster as emotions washed over him. Fear. Jealousy. Hate. Jack wanted to take this away, but he couldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t!

"Ianto. I’m waiting."

Ianto shook himself out of the moment, pushing those feelings to the back of his head in order to answer the question. "Everything was hazy. It was like I was standing in a thick fog in the early morning before the sun had come up. I could make things out, but the lines weren’t clear." He paused to look at Jack. "If that makes sense."

Jack nodded, waving a finger toward Ianto, indicating that he wanted him to continue.

"That’s really all I can make out. I knew I was in my body, but I wasn’t mentally connected to it." 

"Fine. What have you found out about the ring so far?" Jack rubbed a hand over his face, first rubbing his temples, and then down to his chin, where the evidence of stubble was obvious.

"There’s nothing in the online archives to indicate that anything like this has come through the rift before. There is a Greek legend about chrysopoeia, the transmutation of normal objects into gold. I couldn’t see how that was helpful, though, since the reversal of that supposed gift required the help of a god, and there was no ring involved."

"So you or Tosh didn’t have any luck finding a device to remove the ring?"

"No, sir."

"Well, keep looking. There must be something in the physical archives that could help." Jack lifted his coffee mug to his lips, but grimaced at the coffee that had long since gone cold. "I don’t suppose you’ve eaten anything lately, because I’m famished."

"I can’t."

The coffee mug was halfway to the desk, when Jack’s hand froze in midair. "What do you mean you ‘can’t’?" 

Ianto didn’t say anything, as he carefully removed the glove from his right hand, standing to lean over the desk, as Jack placed the mug on the desk. He extended his index finger, and slowly dipped it into the cold liquid, then stepped away from the desk to look out the window of the office into the hub, while he waited to hear Jack’s response. He was aware of the consequences of going without food or water, thanks to the various shows on the telly about third world countries. The squelch of a leather chair, and the rustle of fabric behind him, were the only indication that Jack was now standing behind him.

"We’ll find a way, Ianto." Jack said, his voice low, but full of emotion.

"Thank you for the reassurance, even though you don’t believe it." Ianto could see Owen in the autopsy room searching the body for answers, Tosh typing something into her computer, and Gwen shuffling through a stack of papers. How would they take it, seeing him wither away to nothing? Would they cry? How long before they would forget him and move on, a new recruit filling his position? Could he even watch himself fade away, or should he take matters into his own hands?

An unmistakable scent filled Ianto’s nose as Jack stepped even closer. Ianto tensed, afraid of being touched by the one whose touch he craved. 

"There’s something so alluring in not being able to touch you, in knowing I can’t." 

Ianto turned his head slightly, to see Jack’s face just inches from the side of his own, inhaling Ianto’s unique odor. "Jack." It was a plea that came out in a cracked voice. His emotions were already running high, and the erotic nature of the gesture was not lost on him. If he could only move a couple more inches to the left, he could capture those lush lips with his own. He knew the taste, and at that moment it was something he craved … like a parched man for water. 

The sound of an alarm broke Ianto out of his musings, and made his heart skip a beat. He had been so close, but never before had he been so far away. His head swiveled quickly, to see Gwen burst through the door. She dropped the file she’d been holding and screamed, a hand rising to cover her mouth, while her eyes, which had started to water, fixated on a point just behind Ianto. He turned slowly, as Tosh and Owen came running in.

Their leader stood there, frozen. A figure of gold.


	7. Chapter 7

The room exploded in a cacophony of sound. Owen was yelling something about "how could you?", and "what the fuck did you do that for?", and general ‘blame Ianto’ statements. Tosh was casting looks between Ianto and Jack, muttering to herself, and trying to figure out why Jack remained frozen solid while other objects did not. A tear slipped down Gwen’s cheek as she approached Jack, sidestepping around Ianto, and touching the golden arm closest to her.

"I don’t… I’m sorry … this …" Ianto was at a loss for words. Nothing he could say would make the situation any better. The fact was, Jack was now frozen as a block of gold, and it was all his fault.

"Sorry won’t cut it! Couldn’t you two keep your hands off each other? Look what you’ve done!" Owen yelled at him, pointing at Jack. The stance of his body, and the clenched fist at his side, indicated that he was very close to punching Ianto, but he held himself in check, which was wise considering the situation. It was fortunate that none of the team normally carried a gun while they were in the hub, otherwise he was fairly sure he wouldn’t be standing anymore. 

"I didn’t mean to touch him. I don’t even remember it." And honestly, he couldn’t. Had he accidentally touched Jack, distracted by the alarm and Gwen walking in?

"I don’t understand, though." Tosh cut into the conversation stopping Owen from replying, her eyes on Ianto. "If everything else you touched basically stayed the same, why did Jack become solid?"

"He has a soul." Gwen said, softly. She was walking around Jack, feeling different parts of him, staring at the eyes, almost like she was trying to will Jack to speak to her. "All the other things were just objects. Dead."

Owen muttered under his breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear. "It always comes down to the soul, doesn’t it? Pesky little thing, that."

"That’s not helping, Owen!" Gwen snapped. "What if …" She looked down, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Ianto figured where Gwen was going with that thought and spared her the burden of saying it. "I’ll touch him again." Three pairs of eyes immediately focused in his direction. "He can’t die, right?" He asked, looking first at Owen, then Tosh, and finally Gwen for confirmation. At Gwen’s nod, Ianto continued. "Right now he’s not dead or alive. But if I touch him again, his body should be able to pull itself back together." The "I hope" part was left out, though it wouldn’t take a genius to know that he meant it.

"I think that’s the stupidest idea ever. Do you even know what you’re saying?" Owen was pacing back and forth, looking as though he really wanted to punch something. He stopped in his tracks, to face Ianto and stare him in the eyes. " _Could_ you kill Jack?"

Tosh and Gwen looked between Owen and Ianto, recognizing the Mexican stand-off for what it was.

Ianto’s heart was heavy with guilt and despair. It was a long shot, but there didn’t seem to be any other way to bring Jack back. "I don’t have a choice." Gwen jumped back from the solid figure, as Ianto lifted his ungloved hand, and touched Jack’s face, which immediately fell to the floor, along with the rest of his body; a pile of dust.

"That’s just fucking great." Owen huffed, heading toward the office door. "I’m going to go take care of whatever caused that alarm. If Jack isn’t back by the time I return, I will shoot you."

As Owen headed out of the office to grab his jacket and gun, Ianto looked forlornly at the pile of dust at his feet. He couldn’t think straight, memories of moments spent with Jack whirled through his brain, as he tried to will the man back into form by force of thought. "I don’t know how long it will take," he admitted to Gwen and Tosh, who stood there, silent, their arms linked around each other’s backs for support.

"I’ll keep trying to find a solution, Ianto." Tosh said, pulling away from Gwen, and exiting the office, taking one last glance of what remained of Jack. Ianto looked at Gwen, not seeing the blame he’d expected, but pity, and a hint of determination.

"I’ll stay with you." Gwen sat with her back up against Jack’s desk, pulling her legs to her chest, and resting her chin on the arms crossed over her knees.

Ianto nodded, a barest hint of a smile crossing his face, as he sat on the floor, with his back up against the glass, and closed his eyes. Trust Gwen to not push, but be the silent support he needed. There was also the fact that Jack and Gwen had a special relationship with each other that he couldn’t touch. She was his lifeline to humanity, and could push him in ways that others in the team couldn’t get away with. When she pushed his limits and authority, Jack was more likely to bend.

Waiting was agony. It had been a desperate hope, at best, when he’d made the suggestion that put them in their current predicament, and every second that passed caused a little more doubt to creep into Ianto’s mind that Jack would never make it back. He fingered the ring absentmindedly, thinking through the events of the day. Had it only been one day since he’d found the ring in that dirty warehouse?

Emotions washed over him that weren’t his own. He could feel the thoughts of the previous wearer of the ring. It had been a blessing, at first, being able to turn things into gold. If he could turn enough things, and sell them, maybe he’d be able to afford his rent that month, instead of having to beg his girlfriend for the money. Last month she had threatened that it was the last month she would fork out the money for his lazy ass. But then he began to lose control of himself, slowly surrendering his mind and actions, until …

Ianto opened his eyes quickly, not wanting to "see" what he knew would happen next from inside the man’s mind. He already knew the result, having seen the body in the warehouse and autopsy bay. It wasn’t something he wished to dwell on, since he knew his fate would be the same unless they found a way to remove the ring, soon. He was aware that he was slowly losing control of himself, and he couldn’t allow himself to travel that same path. Not without a fight.


	8. Chapter 8

"Now that’s what I call a hangover from hell."

Both Ianto and Gwen’s eyes snapped up to see Jack lying on the ground between them. 

"Jack!" Gwen exclaimed, then giggled as a huge grin crossed her face, and a hand covered her mouth. Ianto couldn’t help but notice her eyes glancing toward Jack, and then away, trying to avert her gaze, but failing miserably.

"I’m naked, aren’t it?" Jack asked, raising a hand to massage his temples.

Ianto swallowed against the dryness in his throat. A naked Jack was truly an erotic sight to behold, though touching it was even better, especially when orgasms soon followed. "As a babe from the womb, sir."

Jack grinned, a gleam of mischief flashing across his face, as he sat up. "That’s not the way _I_ would’ve described it." He made his way to his feet, unashamed of his lack of clothing. After pulling on another blue shirt and brown trousers he pulled Gwen into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet. While Jack had been dressing, Tosh had come in to welcome Jack back. A small "Oh!" escaped her lips as she saw more of her boss than she’d planned. Jack hugged her as well, her small frame almost disappearing within his arms. After he released both women from their hugs, Gwen still clinging to his arm, Jack straightened to look at Ianto, noting the guilt etched in every line of his face and his bloodshot eyes.

"You did the right thing."

Ianto, not trusting himself to say anything, nodded in acknowledgement of the forgiveness hidden in the statement. There was silence for a few moments, as the tension in the room began to clear between the two men.

"So, first of all, where’s Owen? Second, where do we currently stand on all our crises?"

As Jack followed Tosh out of the office, Gwen answered the first question. "There was a rift alarm just before …" She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence without it sounding like a bad joke, so it was left hanging. "Owen went to take care of it."

"He should know better than to go out alone. If something happens he’ll have no backup." Jack replied.

"Well, it was best that Ianto not go, considering recent events, Tosh is still trying to find a solution for the energy spikes, and information on the ring and how to remove it, and I…" Ianto could see Gwen’s grip on Jack’s arm get a little tighter. "Jack, I couldn’t leave you." Jack wrapped his free arm around Gwen, holding her close, as he dipped his head to kiss Gwen’s forehead.

"Oi. That’s enough touchy-feely shit for the day. I just spent the last hour chasing Weevils back into the sewers and avoiding electrocution. It’s time for you lot to do some of the work." Owen said, as he reentered the hub, while Jack released his hold on Gwen.

"Electrocution?" Tosh asked curiously.

"Don’t tell me you were playing with the hair dryer in the bathtub again." Jack quipped.

"Nothing like that. Sadly." Owen replied. "If we thought the lightning strikes were bad before, it’s nothing compared to now."

Any further conversation was drowned out in Ianto’s head. He was vaguely aware of his body moving toward the door, unnoticed by everyone. Ianto needed to see the lightning. There was something drawing him toward the raw power that was affecting the world above his head. The distant sound of the rift alarm went unheeded as the lift brought him closer to … home. Jolts of energy coursed through Ianto’s body, from the tips of his fingers and toes, racing to the core of his body. His heart pulsed rapidly with excitement and need.

Before long, Ianto had exited the tourist office and was walking along the pier toward the main part of the Plas nearby. The sky was still as overcast as it had been that morning, and although night had fallen, the clouds were lit from within; the discharge of electricity was like a strobe light, illuminating the entire city. As he neared the amphitheater, he could see lightning striking each of the eighteen light poles that formed an oval, and at the center of the walkway, a thin line of light hovered inches off the ground, reaching six feet high. Instinctively, Ianto knew what he had to do as he approached the light, coming within an arms length before stopping. The ring was the source of the energy, and it needed to be stopped.

He heard the sound of feet pounding on the concrete, coming nearer from behind, and turned to see Jack and the rest of the team running up to stop him. 

"Ianto, what are you doing?" Jack yelled.

Tosh shrieked, as a bolt of lightning struck Ianto’s hand when he held it out to stop them from coming any closer. Ianto was unfazed by the lightning, as the energy went straight into the ring.

"I know what has to be done," Ianto said calmly, his voice carrying through the buzzing of the electrical currents in the air. He’d accepted his fate, knowing that his sacrifice would save humanity. It was more of a burden than he originally thought, and he realized how extreme the consequences of his job could be. "It’s for the best."

"No." Jack said firmly. "We can find another way."

Ianto looked around at the electricity coursing through the air, seeing the gap of light grow in size. He gave a small smile to the team, and let Jack hold his gaze a moment longer than the rest. "Goodbye."

He turned and walked into the gap of light, and his world went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

The sound of trickling water was not something Ianto Jones expected in death. Neither was the steady hum of multiple computers. As the sounds around him became more defined, he also became aware of the slightly damp atmosphere. He slowly opened his eyes to see the stone ceiling several stories above him, then glanced to his right hand to see two hands cupping his own. His gaze followed the strong hands up to bare forearms, biceps hidden by a blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves, shoulders hunched over. Jack smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth.

"How do you feel, Ianto?"

"I’m not dead."

Jack chuckled, rubbing Ianto’s hand. "No." Ianto tried to pull his hand away, suddenly remembering that he couldn’t touch anything. Jack wouldn’t let go, though. "It’s okay. The ring is gone. You can’t hurt me. Well … not unless I ask you to." The last comment caused Ianto to grin in anticipation of _that_ evening. Who else but Jack could be such a sucker for a little bondage and discipline?

Ianto huffed out a breath, and relaxed into the touch of Jack’s hand on his. It was so soothing to have someone rubbing the pad of a thumb over the palm and back of his hand, paying special attention to middle finger where the weight of a ring no longer existed. He exhaled, his neck muscles tensing as he slowly sat up, finding himself on the couch inside the Torchwood hub.

"What happened? I mean, after …" 

Jack moved from his perch on the coffee table to sit next to Ianto, releasing one of his hands to place it around the back of Ianto’s shoulders. "We were all blinded by a bright light coming from the spot you walked into. When my vision cleared, all the lightning was gone and you were lying on the ground." Jack paused, as a breath caught in his throat. "Owen checked you over and said you were going to be okay, so we brought you down here until you woke up."

Ianto sighed, his head moving to lean against Jack’s shoulder. "They went home? Gwen, Tosh, and Owen?"

"I said I’d stay."

"Thank you." It was such a comfort to know Jack was here with him. He sat up a little straighter, to look Jack in the eye, making sure he could see how much Ianto meant in those two little words. "Thank you." Ianto leaned forward, his lips within an inch of Jack’s. At this distance, he could feel warm breath caressing his face. Ianto’s pulse began to beat a little faster, his own breathing speeding up with anticipation. 

Jack slowly closed the distance between them, capturing Ianto’s lips in a gentle kiss. It was a kiss to say all the words that would go unspoken, whether out of fear or self-preservation. But that didn’t matter. He didn’t need vows of love that would be tested and possibly proven wrong. Right now, as the kiss deepened and they tasted each other… right now was all that mattered. They broke apart, breathing hard, their bodies tingling with adrenaline and desire. Jack stood up, pulling Ianto with him, and walked into the main office and down into Jack’s living quarters.

Ianto was mesmerized with touching all of Jack. The firm and defined muscles of his arms, legs, and chest were solid beneath his fingers and hands, as he carefully removed Jack’s shirt and trousers. As Jack returned the favor, he gently ran his hands over Ianto’s body, followed by a kiss on every spot he touched. Ianto didn’t rush Jack, instead letting him take the time to worship his body with lips and touch. Each spot he kissed grew warm with heat, and then cool as Jack moved on to another location, paying special attention to every part of Ianto's body in equal reverence.

When they could no longer wait, their bodies and desires aching for more, Jack took Ianto slowly. It wasn’t about just getting off as quickly as they could. This was about Ianto feeling Jack within him, possessing him, and showing him that he was loved. Ianto tried to keep his eyes open as Jack thrust within him, wanting to see the moment he reached his climax. Jack’s body was glistening with sweat, and Ianto leaned forward to capture a drop that had formed in the hollow of Jack’s neck. Ianto’s breath quickened, as he could feel himself start to reach that point when he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back any longer, and Jack started to move a little quicker, sensing Ianto’s need.

Moments later, gasping, Ianto tensed as he reached his climax, and Jack followed after several more thrusts. Pulling apart, but staying within each other’s grasp as they spooned on the small bed, Ianto felt his pulse begin to slow while Jack’s arm wrapped around Ianto’s chest, pulling him close. The heat of skin on skin caused Ianto to shiver, as the other parts of his body began to cool with the evaporating sweat. Before he drifted off to sleep, he felt a small kiss on the back of his neck.

Ianto sighed, and smiled, before drifting off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Waking at 5 am, Ianto groaned, and cursed his internal body clock that seemed determined to drive him into an early grave. His job at Torchwood didn’t often lend itself to regular working hours, considering all the late nights he’d spent out in Cardiff chasing some unknown alien, and there were days when he wished he could sleep in. He rolled onto his back and carded a hand through his hair, becoming aware that he was the only one in the bed.

Ianto pulled back the blanket that had at some point been laid over his body, sat up, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The stone floor was cold, causing him to gasp as his feet made contact. After pulling on his clothes, he headed home to shower, change, and eat. The time alone gave him time to think about the events of the past twenty-four hours. 

He’d been in situations before where his life was at risk, but never to the extent of the day before, where he had almost no control and no chance of escape. The ring had definitely not been of earthly origin with the way it infiltrated itself into Ianto’s thoughts, controlling him as if it had been alive. Maybe there was some sentience in that little bit of metal, but he would never know. All Ianto had now were the memories, and a light discoloration on the middle finger of his right hand where the ring had once been.

The water from the showerhead was hot to the point that it almost burned Ianto’s skin, but only almost. He took such simple pleasure in the water pouring over his body and washing away the grime and sweat. Ianto leaned his upturned face into the spray and exhaled, the heat melting away the tension in his knotted muscles.

An hour later, having dressed in a clean suit, the navy with pinstripes, complete with waistcoat, white shirt, and red tie, Ianto grabbed his car keys. He drove to his favorite restaurant, wanting a quality breakfast rather than donuts or muffins on their way to stale from the local market. The coffee wasn’t the best, but then again, nothing was compared to his own brew. He wasn’t surprised when Jack sat down in the chair opposite him, motioning the waiter to bring another cup of coffee.

"A new day." Jack said casually, as he sat back in his chair.

"A new day," Ianto repeated, "to discover alien tech and save lives."

Jack chuckled, "Bite your tongue, Ianto Jones. Today nothing special is going to happen. It’s going to be boring."

"With you around that’s impossible." Ianto noted Jack’s grin extended into the sparkle in his eye.

The rest of breakfast was spent in relative silence, except for the occasional comment about the food as Ianto savored every bite of his sausage, and waffles covered with strawberries. He had a new appreciation for the things he often took for granted in his life, although it took almost losing it for that to happen. Jack confiscated one of the raw strawberries on his plate, and Ianto was glad for the napkin covering his lap as Jack tongued the fruit in a way that was extremely provocative. Ianto made a mental note to buy strawberries the next time he went to the market… and whipped cream.

After paying the bill, Ianto drove to his normal parking spot, and walked into the hub with Jack close on his heels. He started the water heating in the coffee maker, and began to clean up the rubbish that always seemed to accumulate. As he made his rounds to the various work stations, he noticed that all the items he’d originally turned to gold were now back to normal. It was a curiosity, but one that he didn’t want to dwell on. It was just as well that everything was back to normal. Or as normal as things could be in an organization that hunted aliens and scavenged alien technology. The conference room table was still a pile of dust, however, and Ianto figured he could spend part of his boring day in the tourist office searching for a new one on the internet.

As the clock made its way towards 8, the rest of the team began to trickle in. Tosh gave him a pat on the shoulder and a grin, welcoming him back. Gwen tried to shake his hand, but ended up giving him a quick hug and peck on the cheek. Owen raised an eyebrow and nodded, which, to Ianto, was as good as a welcome back from anyone else.

After most of the rubbish was cleared, Ianto asked Tosh to bring up the CCTV footage of the Plas from the day before. Unfortunately, because of the electrical interference, the camera only recorded static, but that was just as well. Ianto was just curious how the whole thing looked from another perspective, but he wasn’t sure if he could watch himself saying goodbye to Jack, having lived through it once already.

It wasn’t long before Jack came strolling out of his office into the main part of the hub. "So," he said, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, no matter where they were, "what do we know about the philosopher’s stone?"

As Tosh, Gwen, and Owen all groaned, Jack winked at Ianto and whispered, "Another normal day at Torchwood?"

Ianto grinned back, "Indeed, sir."

~~The End~~


End file.
